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to duck

to duck

117 1.7
To lower your head or body quickly to avoid being hit
  • verb
  • /dʌk/
translation icon : agacharse
  • Oh, remember to duck when you go under helicopters.
  • duck for cover

And I probably ducked or dived or did something.

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Examples

  • Seeing the oncoming branch, he instinctively ducked to avoid it.

  • Jacob nudged Mark hard, and they ducked behind the banister at the foot of the stairs.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • I think you need to duck your head a little more.

  • You guys duck down back there.

  • If I signal, duck back.

  • Every time I go there, I still duck my head involuntarily.

  • When the women filed into a big room, we ducked behind a square marble column.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Coming about, hard alee, and you duck your head and don't slide off when the boat changes direction.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Hurried, but with his usual dignity, he ducked and swerved as necessary.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • The alien swings a large paw, but Kirk ducks and comes in with an uppercut.

    Fiction book (1991)

Synonyms

to dodge
vsto duck
30 3.0

To move quickly to avoid being hit

is a quick lowering rather than a sudden lateral movement
to duck down
vsto duck
3 4.2

To lower your body quickly by bending your knees to avoid being seen or hit

is a quick lowering without emphasis on bending knees
to duck and dive
vsto duck
  • UK
8.4

To move quickly and skillfully to avoid things or difficult problems

is a quick bodily lowering rather than broad skillful evasion

Antonyms

1.0

To be or put something in an upright position

Idioms

duck soup
  • Archaic
1 6.1

A task that is very easy to do

Have a first success after trying and failing

can a duck swim
  • Informal
9.5

A question people ask to show the answer is clearly yes

9.9

A situation when you must give full effort or you get nothing

Phrasal Verbs

to duck out
  • Informal
12 7.2

To leave a place quickly and quietly to avoid something you should do

To give food to ducks at a park or pond for fun

3 4.2

To lower your body quickly by bending your knees to avoid being seen or hit

To move quickly and skillfully to avoid things or difficult problems

to duck off
  • Offensive
9.9

To leave quickly and quietly or tell someone rudely to go away

Compounds

sitting duck
  • Informal
33 6.8

Something that others can harm or take advantage of

lame duck
  • Literature
30 7.4

An elected leader still in office who has lost real power

7 3.2

An outdoor activity where people shoot ducks for food or sport

dead duck
  • Informal
4 8.6

A person or thing sure to fail

3 2.2

A thick sweet and sour sauce served with Chinese food

2 2.8

A person who hunts ducks for sport or food

2 5.9

Having a beak or snout like a duck's

1 5.8

A brightly colored North American duck that nests in tree holes near water

1 2.0

A water bird like a mallard that lives in lakes and rivers and is not kept by people

1 6.0

A dark brown duck found in eastern North America

1 3.9

A duck that swims underwater to find food, often in lakes or bays

1 8.4

A smooth spread made from duck liver, often served on bread

A large plant-eating dinosaur with a long, flat beak like a duck

1 7.2

A mammal from Australia that lays eggs and has a duck-like bill and webbed feet

1 7.4

A diving duck with a purplish head often seen in lakes

A small brightly colored duck from East Asia often kept by people

A large wild North American duck with a sloping profile and red head prized by hunters for its meat

cold duck
  • Archaic
9.3

A pink sparkling wine that people make by mixing red and white wines and serve cold

A duck that feeds by tipping its head into shallow water while its tail stays up

A fake duck made of wood or plastic that hunters use to attract real ducks

9.9

A funny, scary-looking duck figure used in jokes or shows

2.8

Soft fine feathers from a duck used to fill warm bedding and clothing

A small duck-shaped toy that makes a quacking sound when pressed

duck shot
  • Specialized
7.2

Small metal balls put in shotgun shells for hunting ducks

A large sea duck from northern coasts whose female gives soft down used in quilts and pillows

9.9

A habit of preferring the first way you learn and resisting later changes

7.8

A large diving duck with a crest and a thin hooked bill for catching fish

A medium diving bird whose male has a purple head and a blue bill

7.8

A duck that lives and feeds in muddy water

8.3

A large duck from Central and South America kept for meat and eggs

8.0

A large wild duck with a crest that people raise for meat and eggs

golden duck
  • Jargon
9.0

Being out for zero runs on the first ball a batsman faces in cricket

queer duck
  • Archaic
9.6

A person who acts in a strange or unusual way

7.1

A small duck with a reddish-brown body and a stiff tail

A duck with a long neck and long thin tail feathers

8.4

A diving duck from North America with a blue-grey bill that lives in lakes and near the sea

5.8

A large diving bird that lives by the sea and dives for food

9.0

A colorful North American bird that nests in holes in trees

How Low

dive
104 1.0
to crouch
65 1.8
to duck
117 1.7
stoop
2 4.8
to bend
194 1.0

Surface Forms

duck infinitive
ducked past
ducked past participle
ducking present participle
ducks third person singular

Etymology

Duck meaning 'to lower quickly' comes from an old word ducan meaning 'to bend down' or 'to dive', so to duck is to quickly bend down to avoid being hit or seen.